Gosho Kato, who made his major league debut this year and was nominated in third place in the draft by professional baseball Nippon-Ham, decided to join Nippon-Ham. It's like a dream," he said with joy.
Kato is 28 years old from California.
He is a utility player who can defend the infield and outfield and is good at running bases.In his 10th year as a professional, he became the first Blue Jays to be promoted to the major leagues and appeared in 8 games.
Kato was nominated by Nippon-Ham in 3rd place at the draft meeting last month.
Kato held a press conference in Tokyo on the 4th and explained why he decided to join the team, saying, "I like to improve myself, and I was excited to see how far I could improve after receiving guidance from a Japanese coach and learning techniques."
He added, "I think that Japanese and American baseball are different sports. Technically, I can't imagine how far I can go, but I've been playing in the minor leagues for a long time, and my feelings and confidence have been strengthened, so I made use of it. I want to be a player," he said enthusiastically.
Regarding manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo, who was with him, “I will never forget the scene when I watched manager Shinjo’s major debut match on TV in 2001, and touched up from first base to second base. has changed, so sitting next to me is like a dream."
Coach Shinjo said, ``I have experience playing in the minor leagues, but I am very hungry.